PHOTOS: The lost village of Hazeldean

All the strip malls and pavement make it hard to imagine today, but 50 years ago Hazeldean Road, all the way through Kanata South and into Stittsville, was lush green farmland.

The village of Hazeldean was situated at the crossroads of what’s now Hazeldean Road and Young Road. In the spring you would have seen rolling hills of green, cows and pigs alongside the road, children playing in the fields. There was a cheese factory, a brass band, a schoolhouse.

There are still a few hints of this history. There’s the gorgeous Sparks House that’s now “The Spa” on Castlefrank. There’s the Grierson Residence in front of the Goodlife on Hazeldean. Along Young Road you’ll find the old Masonic Hall and an old church, and there’s a hidden cemetery not far from the Tim Hortons on Edgewater – one of three cemeteries in the area.

Roger Young grew up in Hazeldean, and now calls Stittsville home. His family was one of the earlier 19th century settlers in the area and their name is still prominent: Young Road, Young’s Pond Park, John Young Elementary School.

“I was born in 1950 in Hazeldean and until the mid-60s it was almost as it had been at the turn of the century, if not longer,” he says. “One side of our farm is marked now by Terry Fox and the other by Young Road. I grew up there and knew all the elderly people and all the past residents of Hazeldean. I photographed the entire community before any of the housing was built. The original settlers came to Canada with the Talbot group in 1818 on the Brunswick and we would be the last family remaining.”

Over the past few months Roger has been kind enough to share some photos from his family’s collection. Many of the colour photos were taken by Roger himself when he was a young man in the 1960s. Most of them show scenes from along Hazeldean Road and Young Road. He’s been collecting and organizing them as part of a family history project.

The 1960s photos were taken just before the area started its transformation into a suburban community, with the development of Glen Cairn and later Katimavik. They provide a fascinating view into into the history of our community.

I’d like to thank Roger for his generous hospitality, and the time he’s spent to meet with me and share his photos and fond memories of the old village.

(Click on any photo to view larger size.)

Hazeldean in 1965.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965. The barns belong to the Griersons and Sparks on the south side of Hazeldean Road. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965. This is now the strip mall with the Starbucks and Goodlife. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean in 1965.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Detail from the map of Goulbourn Township from the Belden Atlas, 1879. The thick horizontal line in the middle of the map is Hazeldean Road, and the churches are clustered along what’s now Young Road in Kanata. The small squares represent homes in the area. The rail line at the bottom is now the Trans Canada Trail.

A child standing on what’s now Hazeldean Road, east of Terry Fox.Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Hazeldean was (and still is) a hilly place and toboganning was a favourite winter activity. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Old barn. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

Looking towards St. Paul’s Church, from a vantage point where the Kanata Rec Centre is now located on Terry Fox. The house on the hill is the Young farm. The original community churches are also visible, along with the Masonic Hall. The first church, cemetery, and Masonic Hall are still there. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

The Hazeldean Band, circa 1887. Photo from the Goulbourn Township Historical Society archives.Young’s Groceteria, the old general store. Note the fuel pumps out front. Young’s father purchased the store in 1956. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

The original St. Paul’s Church. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

The Hazeldean Cheese Factory. All of Goulbourn Township was highly regarded for the quality of its dairy products. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

The old school house, SS#13 Goulbourn. Built in 1872, this photo was taken around 1900. Photo from the collection of Roger Young.

18 thoughts on “PHOTOS: The lost village of Hazeldean”

I moved to what was Hazeldean in 1958 to property at the corner of what is now Maple Grove and McCurdy Drive. Our house is still there. I went to school with Roger Young in the one room school SS#13 in the same grade from grade 3 through grade 8. My Dad, Ron Watts would help Gordon Young, Rogers father, at Youngs store sometimes on weekends. We lived across of what was the location of the cheese factory. All that was left when we moved there was a portion of an old well. On our property there were the ruins of an old stone house which we took down as it was unsafe, but not before we had great climbing times when my brothers and I were young. We saw Hazeldean and Kanata grow up around us.

Stunning photography; well done Roger! Seeing your pics of the lost village of Hazeldean brought back a flood of memories. I can still imagine the green grocer smell that greeted visitors who walked into your family store. Oddly, I can also hear the hum of the power lines in the absolute quiet of a crisp country night as I walked north on Young’s Road past your grandmother’s house, old St. Pauls and onto the Douglas farm were Costco and the hotel now stands at Terry Fox and Katimavik. While I’ve lived in several places and was actually born in SW Ontario, when the conversation turns to “and where are you from”, my answer has never changed and still is “Hazeldean”.

The barn pictured belonged to Albert Bradley, blacksmith and carriage maker. It was located on the corner of Hazeldean Road and Young Road. The original store (the left part) was built in the 1850s for Adam Abbott. The house attached (the right section) was built by the Cummings family, who owned the store in the 1890s. It was originally right beside the road, but was moved back in the late 1950s. It is niw the location of the mall with Henry’s camera store.

Roger I think I have known your grandparents Frank and Willow Young back in the day when I was growing up. Was out many a time to the house on Youngs Road your Aunt Merial used to cut my hair when I moved out to Stittsville.
I know Maple Grove well the cematary where Frank and Willow are buried as well as Lela and Harold Doyle, which is how I met them in my early years. It was back in the day once you left Bells Corners you would drive over the train tracks and be in darkness the rest of the way no lights, and a dirt road if I remember.
At one time was going to put an offer in on the house back in the 80’s when just married. lots of memories.

Hi Colleen-thanks for your note. You are correct about everything. As a child I remember when Bell’s Corners was just a hamlet and the long drive from there to Hazeldean. I remember the road as paved, but it seemed to take forever to get to Eagleson’s Corners. How do you know the Doyle’s? Best wishes.

Did this bring back memories and actually gave me goosebumps remembering the good times back then. My Mom and Dad always filled up at Young’s and spent more time visiting with Gordon and Audrey than pumping gas. Family was always the talk (Audrey is my Grandfather’s sister’s (Innie) daughter) and any current events took up time as well. Gordon would always slip me a candy or two on every visit. I remember so well biking those old dirt roads with our group of Stittsvilleite kids and the openness of the area with not a care in the world. It was like living in paradise those days, but little did we know what the future would bring. Roger, thanks so much for sharing your photos with Stittsville Central and bringing my fond memories to life again! Glen, thank you so much for bringing us the history of what once was.

Roger Young and Stittsville Central – thank-you so much for sharing these wonderful pictures and memories! My husband and I were married in St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Young’s Road many years ago. All of our out-of-town relatives who come to visit us now, don’t recognize Hazeldean because of how it’s grown. We were so privileged to have experienced and lived those amazing early times, that are now gone forever. Thank-you so much!!!

I grew up in Richmond and am familiar with Hazeldean area. I have been in BC since 1991 and similarly see farmlands being converted into townhome developments and wonder when it will turn from what you shared to what is now. Thank you for sharing.

My parents moved us to Hazledean in the early 1950s. They had married in Haliburton. My Dad was an Ottawa boy. They lived somewhere in Hazledean and my older siblings went to the old school house, but it didn’t look like the one in the picture Roger Young has. It was smaller and maybe stone? I was too young but I d9nhave a picture somewhere I will try to find and post.
I truly love the Kanata/Stittsville area!

The school you are thinking of was built in 1911 after the one in the picture burned down in 1910. I went to that school as well. My teachers were Mrs. Flossie Moffatt, Mrs. Mary Davidson, and Mrs Gwen Eglington. 1956-1964.

Mrs Mary Davidson tutored me in math in the 1960s. I have fond memories of going to her house in Stittsville for my lessons after school. I would take the bus from Goulbourn Township Public School to Stittsville. Mr. Johnny Davidson would sit in the front room while we grappled with math at the kitchen table. She was a dedicated teacher and a lovely human being.

My parents rented the Grant farm in the summertime for our cattle and my mother would organize excursions to berry pick at the Grant place, where there were huge raspberry bushes. I have fond memories of that time. The Grant barn was still standing. We were told the story of how Mr. Grant died in the 1870 fire on the same property when he went back into the burning house to collect some important papers. Lots of history in this area. Thanks for posting these pictures.

Extremely interesting! It is a reminder that some of the small things we do when we are younger (such as taking some time to record neighbourhood pictures) end up being priceless in the future. Am surprised to see just how much the neighbourhood has been built up in such a short time – the reality is quite different from the assumption that “development” was a gradual evolution over the past 200 years.

Speaking of 200 years, 2018 is (apparently) the 200th anniversary of the founding of Hazeldean (according to the City road signs on Eagleson and other major nearby roads greeting travellers). The Katimavik-Hazeldean Community Association (incorporated and active since 1980), will be commemorating this occasion on July 1 / Canada Day in Kanata as part of the celebrations at the Kanata Recreation Centre toboggan hill. We will be serving cake, and all those Katimavik-Hazeldean residents signing up as members of our Association will be given a special 200th anniversary lapel pin recognizing the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Hazeldean settlement (membership is $10 a year per household). A bit more info, and a picture of one of the road signs, can be found at http://www.khca.on.ca

Thank you very much for your work, Glen… and thank you to Marc Labreche who brought this to my attention. Perhaps there is a way we can publically display some of these pictures at the Canada Day celebrations?

Thank you so much for the photos and accompanying historical comments about Hazeldean’s past.
I was born and raised on Fernbank Road (lot 29 Concession 10 Goulbourn Township), and often travelled with my parents, to and through Hazeldean via the Hazeldean Side Road, Young Road etc. We would be going to visit my Grandmpther at my Mother’s birth place on the Goulbourn Forced Road, now called Terry Fox Drive.